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Monday, March 16, 2015

What?! Railway station edition


Tonight I'm gonna tell you about a couple pretty weird and somewhat disturbing things that have been said to me, mainly because I use a wheelchair to get around.

"Do you need help?" 
"No, thanks, I'm fine"
"But I can't leave you here alone, you are so defenseless!" 
"You must, I am an adult and I don't need any help!" 
"It is cold, do you want to come to my place?"
"NO! Now go away and leave me alone"

This was pretty much the conversation I had with a man I had never met before. I was at a railway station in Germany, waiting for my friend to come pick me up. It was one of my first weeks in Bochum, so I was not very confident with my German and I had never been there before. As soon as that man approached me, I was kinda scared because there were not so many people around. When he said "You are so defenseless", he made me mad.
Why can't I just take a train and wait for my friends like anyone else?
Why do I have to be defenseless just because I am sitting on a wheelchair?
Why do you assume I can't take care of myself?
Why do you insist on doing something for me when I already told you I do not need help?
Why do you invite me to your place? That's creepy!

Another similar conversation I had with a man I didn't know at another station was:

"Do you need help?"
"No, thanks."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!"
"Do you wanna come to my house?"
"NO!"
"Okay..."

This conversation didn't make me as mad as the first one, it was just very creepy. It somehow made me laugh, especially when I told my friends about it.

I wish people understood that, even if I use a wheelchair, it doesn't mean I can't take care of myself and go about my business just like any other adult. I hate being treated like a child.

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